Whole Hog Family Dinner at Scuola Di Pizza

As a Filipina, pork is a definite food love since it does play a good part in Filipino cuisine.  So when a friend asked if I wanted to check out the Whole Hog Family Dinner at Scuola Di Pizza, I jumped at the chance and when I saw the menu, I was even more interested.
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For those of you unfamiliar with Scuola Di Pizza, it's part of Pizzeria Mozza and Osteria Mozza and is a private dining room with an open kitchen and seated family-style dining.  It can be rented for private events, but it's also used for cooking classes and themed dinners open to the public. Currently, Chef Chad Colby is the one who teaches the classes as well as cooks the Whole Hog Family Dinners every Saturday night.  Considering that he won Cochon 55, the heritage pig competition in Los Angeles last May, I knew we were in good hands.

The Whole Hog Dinner is basically a six course menu featuring Heritage Foods USA Hogs and ours started with a complimentary glass of Prosecco and two types of Focaccia Bread. One was with Hot Peppers and Sage and the other, which is the one you see below, is with Green Olives and Cheese. No pork yet, but that will soon be remedied.

While we were enjoying our appetizers, we could admire the plated items that would consist of our first course.

We could also watch the chefs as they were prepping and cooking some of the ingredients that would go into our second course.  Being able to see the chefs at work is definitely a perk of dining right in front of an open kitchen.

Finally, we were asked to be seated and then 2-3 sets of our first course dishes were put at opposite ends of the table so that guests could take their share and pass the plate(s) to the person beside them.  One of the items consisted of Crispy Bread Sticks Wrapped in Pancetta. Then there was Pickled Fennel, Carrots and Sweet and Sour Shallots.

The star or should I say stars were actually the 3 types of Pate that we got to enjoy. The first pate was head cheese pate with pork butter with the second one being a “butcher’s pâté"  that was made of ground heart, liver and kidneys.  Finally, there was a bacon wrapped tenderloin terrine. With the pates came grilled crostini and a spicy grain mustard.  The pate was quite rich and buttery, but the pickled vegetables really helped to cut into that richness. I also enjoyed how the spicy mustard also gave the pates a kick of heat.

Our second course was Pork Belly Sausage and Rib Confit served with Trotter-Stewed Butter Beans. We actually saw the Pork Belly Sausage being grilled earlier. I wasn't sure how I would feel about the pork belly being ground up, but I have to admit that its fattiness added some really good flavor to the sausage.  The rib meat was tender and I really loved the porky flavor of the butter beans. Chef Colby, who introduced each course, jokingly said that this dish was his version of "pork and beans". Chef, you can cook at my campfire anytime.

Next up was the Souffle of Parmigiano Reggiano over Pork Leg Ragu.  The souffle was perfect.  It was soft, and pillowy and I loved the sharp and nutty flavor coming from the cheese. However, I didn't really understand the role of the Pork Leg Ragu with the Souffle.

I know it was meant to be eaten with the souffle and I did do that, but it felt like two separate entities that were forced to be partnered with each other by virtue of being on the same plate.  I felt like I was just eating meat sauce. Now, if that was tossed with pasta, I could have gone for that.

With all the rich courses we've been having so far, I was really craving green vegetables and luckily, our next course was Roasted Pork Shoulder with Chicory Salad and Salsa Verde. You can see that beautiful piece of meat below.

The open kitchen again afforded the chance for us to see Chef Colby cutting into the Roast Pork Shoulder so that it can be served to our table.

The chicory salad which had a tart viniagrette was a perfect foil for the fattiness of the pork, which also included pieces of crunchy skin.  I also liked how the salsa verde or what seemed to more like a chimuchurri added herbacious flavors to the entire dish.

Our last savory dish of the night was the Milk Roasted Pork Loin with Caramelized Ricotta and Sage. The pork was moist and tender and I liked how the ricotta and sage added balanced notes of both sweet and peppery to the meat.

Now's it's time for dessert and believe it or not, this Whole Hog theme even applied to dessert where butter was replaced with pig fat in their Graham Cracker Pigs. Clever, don't you think?  Accompanying these delicious cookies were a Rice and Hazelnut Gelati and a Melon Sorbet.  Scooping the ice cream with pieces of the cookie and taking a bite was a fun and tasty activity.

Overall, it was a delicious meal.  The pork was prepared well and with finesse and I can definitely see or actually taste why Chef Colby emerged triumphant at Cochon 55. There's only small thing I would change is that I would have liked the addition of more vegetables in the initial courses to help cut down the richness of the meal.  That chicory salad was a welcome relief because by that time, my palate was feeling just a bit fatigued.

Other than that, the meals at Scuola di Pizza is definitely worth checking out and if you're interested in the Whole Hog Dinner, it runs $75 per person, not including tax and tip. Click here to see Scuoloa Di Pizza's calendar of events, including their Saturday Night Whole Hog Dinners.

Scuola Di Pizza
6610 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA90036
(323) 297-1133 ^

Food and Wine Pairing at Firenze Osteria with Top Chef, Fabio Viviani and Santa Margherita Wines

Last April, a little email came in my inbox asking me if I'd be interested in attending a hosted Food and Wine Pairing where the food would be prepared by Top Chef Fabio Viviani and paired with Santa Margherita Wines, which are imported to the US by Terlato Wines.  Since I hadn't had a chance to dine at either of his restaurants yet, I jumped at the chance to enjoy his cooking at his Toluca Lake outpost,  Firenze Osteria.  The purpose of this meal was the US introduction of the Santa Margherita Chianti Classico Riserva, which represents an upgrade of the brand’s Chianti Classico, which ranked in the top 10 of all Chianti brands.

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Before I talk about the actual food and wine itself, there's a couple of interesting tidbits I want to share.  To start, here's some wine trivia. Tony Terlato, while on a trip to Italy, discovered Pinot Grigio. After sampling Pinot Grigio at various wineries, he finally decided to introduce the Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio to the US in 1979 and Americans fell in love.  For 14 consecutive years, it was voted by Wine and Spirits Magazine as the most popular imported wine, red or white, served at our top restaurants.

Second, Chef Fabio mentioned a couple of things before the first course hit the table. One, he explained that one or two ingredients from one dish will be carried into the following dish and so forth so that the transition from one dish is smooth and not jarring. Two, during the pairing, we should first taste the wine on its own and then take a bite of our food and take a sip of wine to see how the flavors of the food and wine either go well together or not.

According to Chef Fabio, Italian meals always start with a glass of Prosecco, so ours started with the Santa Margherita Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, which was paired with two different dishes. Our first course was a Crostini di Pancetta which was toasted bread topped with fresh imported burrata, grilled pancetta, crispy sage and brown butter. As a sidenote, the burrata is ordered fresh every 3 days and the crostini is housemade. The light fruity notes of the wine was a nice complement to the burrata while its crispness helped cleanse the palate from the saltiness of the pancetta.

The second dish to be paired with the Prosecco was Gamberoni in Camacia which was grilled pancetta-wrapped jumbo shrimp filled with gorgonzola served over Parmesan polenta and sauteed shrimp.  As I mentioned earlier, the pancetta from the first dish made it into the second dish. The upfront lychee and lemon flavors from the wine was a nice contrast to the rich gorgonzola cheese. My one issue was that the polenta was too gummy.

From the Prosecco, we moved on to the Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio Alto Adige, which was also paired with two dishes. The first of those dishes was the Gnocchi Cinque Terre with pesto potato dumplings, basil pesto, pine nuts and Parmigiano cheese. Chef Fabio mentioned that this particular gnocchi dish was served Italian-style, which means that the gnocchi isn't mixed in the sauce, but instead is placed on top of the sauce. I actually prefer the Italian-style where the real focus is on those pillowy gnocchi, which are definitely worth the attention. As for the Pinot Grigio, its bright earthiness paired well with the pesto.

The second dish to be paired with the Pinot Grigio was the Oil-Poached Escolar which is a white tuna that is poached in a light olive oil and topped with with a chunky puttanesca sauce. I loved the contrast of the mild fish with the spicy sauce and the Pinot Grigio's acidity was a wonderful complement.

Our last three pairings were done with the Santa Margherita Chianti Classico Riserva. The first dish to pair with the Chianti was a perfectly cooked and juicy Costolette di Agnello, a herb marinated rack of lamb served with glazed pistachio nuts.  While the lamb was indeed excellent, I have to say that I fell in love with the pistachio nuts, which were softened and cooked down like beans. If I wasn't told that they were pistachio nuts, I wouldn't have had a clue. It was such a transformation, but a delicious one.  The tannins of the Chianti was helpful in cleansing the palate from the strong flavors of the lamb.

The final savory dish to go with the Chianti was the Trofie con Anatra e Finocchio, which are homemade trofie pasta with duck sausage, caramelized fennel and Parmesan cheese. When it came to the pasta dish, I enjoyed it except for the fennel. Fennel tastes too much like anise or licorice to me and I'm just not a fan. As for the wine, its dark fruit notes went well with the gaminess of the duck.

As for dessert, they were both also paired with the Chianti. First, there was the Torta al Cioccolato, an individual flourless chocolate cake served with vanilla gelato and a chocolate and coffee cream sauce. Second was their homemade cannoli encrusted with pistachios and chocolate chips filled with ricotta.In truth, I was pretty full by this time so I had only a few bites of each dessert and skipped the wine altogether.

Overall, this was a wonderful meal. I think the wine pairings went well with Chef Fabio's food, which was so delicious, that I couldn't believe that I hadn't visited Firenze Osteria earlier.  As for the wine, I really liked that the wines worked well with so many different types of dishes.  That really speaks well of their versatility and if I need to bring a bottle of wine to meal, a Santa Margherita wine just make it in my shopping basket.

Firenze Osteria
4212 Lankershim Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 91602
(818) 760-7081
Firenze Osteria on Facebook Page
Firenze Osteria on Twitter


Santa Margherita Wines
Santa Margherita Wines on Terlato Wines
Santa Margherita on Facebook
Santa Margherita on Twitter

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It's Not Just About the Pizza at Vito's Pizza

Although I've been to Vito's Pizza a few more times since my first visit, which you can read by clicking here, this is the first time I've tried food other than their pizza.  But one Sunday afternoon, a couple of friends and I were just a little more hungry than usual. So while we did put in a pizza order, we also shared a few other items.

First up was their Antipasto Salad made up of chopped romaine lettuce, olives, tomatoes, onions, salami, capocollo and provolone florets and mixed with a homemade viniagrette. I liked that the salad wasn't over-dressed and that the veggies were fresh and crispy. You know what's cool though? Check out the meat florets. I'm pretty sure that I've never seen anything like that on a salad or anywhere else for that matter.

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Our threesome also ordered the Breadsticks with extra virgin olive oil and fresh chopped garlic. Even if you plan to carb your way through a few pizza slices, you just have to order these Breadsticks, which were crusty bites of goodness.  I loved that they topped them with fresh chopped garlic.  Just take a look at the picture below to see what I mean.  Dracula, watch out!

Another item to hit the table was their Meatball Sandwich. I just had a small bite, but even with just a nibble, I remember liking it enough to maybe order it at another time.

When it came to selecting our pizza, we had a hard time choosing which of their specialty pizzas to order, so we did the next best thing.  We ordered 4 slices, 1 of each a different flavor, and then Vito's was kind enough to split the slices in thirds.  How nice is that? It even made for a pretty picture.

As for the flavors we chose you can seee from bottom center going to the right, the Pesto and Ricotta Pizza, the Garibaldi Pizza (tomatoes, meatball and jalapenos), Meat Lover's Pizza (sausage, pepperoniand meatball), the Pizza Margherita (fresh tomatoes, basil and mozzarella) and the Mediterranean Veggie Pie (marinated spinach, broccoli, fresh tomatoes, garlic, herbs and ricotta).

Just like on previous visits, I find the crust a little too chewy for my liking, but when I'm in the neighborhood and crazing a slice of pie, Vito's does the trick. As for my favorite pies, one is the Pesto Pizza because I like how the sweet ricotta cheese complements the herby pesto sauce. 

I also enjoy all the greens that come on the Mediterranean Veggie Pie and when I'm on a mushroom crave, Arturo's Wild Mushroom Pizza makes me smile.  But's nice to know that if I'm just not in the mood for pizza, I can make other tasty choices and so can you!

Vito's Pizza
846 N La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(310) 652-6859 


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